Vacuum birefringence in high-energy laser-electron collisions

Abstract

Real photon-photon scattering is a long-predicted phenomenon that is being searched for in experiment in the form of a birefringent vacuum at optical and X-ray frequencies. We present results of calculations and numerical simulations for a scenario to measure this effect using multi-MeV photons generated in the collision of electrons with a laser pulse. We find that the birefringence of the vacuum should be measurable using experimental parameters attainable in the near future.